Contents

The qualifications for the presidency are specified by Chapter III Section A (Articles 134 and 135) of the 1987 Constitution of Haiti.

The president is elected to a five-year term by popular vote. The president is not to be elected twice in a row: he may serve a second term only after an interval of five years, and must not run for a third term.[A134]

enjoy civil and political rights and not have been sentenced to death, or penal servitude or the loss of civil rights for a crime of ordinary law;[unreliable source?]

be the owner of a real property and have one's habitual residence in the country;

reside in the country at least 5 years before election day;

have been discharged of responsibilities if previously handling public funds.

Elections are held on the last Sunday in November in the fifth year of the current president's term. However, the election time is not fixed according to the election held in 2015. If no candidate receives a majority, a runoff election is held between the top two candidates. Runoff candidate who have not withdrawn before the runoff, who have the highest number of votes will become the next president.[A134]

Each presidential term in office begins and ends on the first February 7 after presidential elections are held. However this is also altered after Michel Martelly became the president on May 11 of 2011. [A134]

The qualifications for the presidency are specified by Articles 136 to 147, part of Chapter III Section B of the 1987 Constitution of Haiti. The President has no powers except those accorded to him in the Constitution.[A150]

The Constitution mandates that the President see to: the respect for and enforcement of the Constitution and the stability of the institutions; regular operations of the public authorities; the continuity of the State;[A136] and the nation's independence and the integrity of its territory.[A138]

When there is a majority in Parliament, the President must choose a Prime Minister from the majority party; otherwise, he chooses one after consultation with the two houses of Parliament. In either case, the choice must then be ratified by Parliament. The President terminates the duties of the Prime Minister when the Government resigns.[A137]

With the approval of the senate, the president appoints the Commander-in-chief of Haitian armed forces, Haitian police forces, ambassadors and consuls to foreign states.[A141]

With the approval of the Council of Ministers, the President of the Republic appoints the directors general of the civil service, and delegates and vice delegates of Departments and Arrondissements. [A142]

The President ratifies laws and has the right to choose between ratifying a law or not. [A144]

The President could perform or commune sentences in all res judica cases, except ones carried by Supreme Court judges. The president, however, cannot grant amnesty to non-political prisoners. [A146][1]

1.
Flag of Haiti
–
The national flag of Haiti is a bicolour flag featuring two horizontal bands coloured blue and red, defaced by a white panel bearing the coat of arms. The coat of arms depicts a trophy of weapons atop a hill, ready to defend freedom. The palm is topped by the Cap of Liberty, the motto LUnion Fait La Force appears on a white ribbon below the arrangement. The present design was first used by the Republic of Haiti under President Alexandre Pétion in 1806 and it was readopted by Article 3 of the current Constitution of Haiti on February 25,2012, and made square as part of its readoption. In its semi-official English translation, Article 3 reads, The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with the following description, two equal sized horizontal bands, a blue one on top and a red one underneath, b. The coat of arms of the Republic are, a Palmette surmounted by the liberty cap, the first purely Haitian flag was adopted on May 18,1803, on the last day of the Congress of Arcahaie, about 80 kilometres north of Port-au-Prince. Haitian lore holds that the newly appointed revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines created the flag by taking a French tricolor and ripping out the white center and he then asked Catherine Flon, his god-daughter, to sew the remaining bands together. The white pale removed, the blue was taken to represent Haitis black citizens, the story is widely known in Haiti, the anniversary of the date is celebrated as the Haitian Flag Day and images of Catherine Flon have appeared on Haitian currency and stamps. Following his proclamation as Emperor Jacques I, Dessalines promulgated a new constitution on May 20,1805, in it, the colors of the flag were altered to black and red. During the period of the Haitian Empire of Faustin I, his coat of arms was used on the flag and for official functions, between 1964 and 1986, the family dictatorships of François Papa Doc and Jean-Claude Baby Doc Duvalier returned to Dessalines black and red design. They included the coat of arms, but altered the flags in its trophy to black as well. This led to the addition of a crown to the design of the flag of Liechtenstein, list of Haitian flags Flag of France Flag of Liechtenstein Fombrun, Odette Roy, ed. History of The Haitian Flag of Independence, the Flag Heritage Foundation Monograph And Translation Series Publication No.3. Worldsstatesmen. de Vries, Hubert, ed. Haiti - LUnion Fait La Force, the Armorial of Haiti, Symbols of Nobility in the Reign of Henry Christophe République dHaïti

2.
Excellency
–
Excellency is an honorific style given to certain members of an organisation or state. Generally people addressed as Excellency are heads of state, heads of government, governors, ambassadors, certain ecclesiastics, royalty, and others holding equivalent rank and the FIFA President. It is sometimes misinterpreted as a title of office in itself, in reference to such an official, it takes the form His or Her Excellency, in direct address, Your Excellency, or, less formally, simply Excellency. The abbreviation HE is often used instead of His/Her Excellency, alternatively it may stand for His/Her Eminence, in most republican nations, the head of state is formally addressed as His Excellency. If a republic has a head of government, that official is often addressed as Excellency as well. If the nation is a monarchy, however, the customs may vary, in the case of Australia, all ambassadors, high commissioners, governors and the governor-general and their spouses are entitled to the use of Excellency. Governors of colonies in the British Empire were entitled to be addressed as Excellency, in various international organizations, notably the UN and its agencies, Excellency is used as a generic form of address for all republican heads of state and heads of government. Judges of the International Court of Justice are also called Your Excellency, in some monarchies the husbands, wives, or children, of a royal prince or princess, who do not possess a princely title themselves, may be entitled to the style. For example, in Spain spouses or children of a born infante or infanta are addressed as Excellency, also, former members of a royal house or family, who did have a royal title but forfeited it, may be awarded the style afterwards. Examples are former husbands or wives of a prince or princess, including Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg. In some emirates, only the Emir, heir apparent and prime minister are called His Highness and their children are styled with the lower treatment of His/Her Excellency. In Spain members of the nobility, holding the dignity of grandee, are addressed as The Most Excellent Lord/Lady. Some of the high ranking counts, Excellency can also attach to a prestigious quality, notably in an order of knighthood. By a decree of the Sacred Congregation of Ceremonial of 31 December 1930 the Holy See granted bishops of the Roman Catholic Church the title of Most Reverend Excellency. In the years following the First World War, the title of Excellency. The adjective Most Reverend was intended to distinguish the title from that of Excellency given to civil officials. The instruction Ut sive sollicite of the Holy Sees Secretariat of State, dated 28 March 1969, cardinals, even those who were bishops, continued to use the title of Eminence. In some English-speaking countries, the honorific of Excellency does not apply to other than the nuncio

3.
Official residence
–
An official residence is the residence at which a nations head of state, head of government, governor or other senior figure officially resides. It may or may not be the location where the individual conducts work-related functions or lives. This has occurred in the 21st century in Detroit and New York City, in the case of Denver, no mayor has ever lived in the official residence, the city instead makes it available to certain non-profit groups for special functions. The President uses own private residence, - Its address is 1 Cheongwadae-ro, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located next to Gyeongbokgung, the palace during the Joseon Dynasty. Cheong Nam Dae - Cheong Nam Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. It was returned to public in 2003, - It is located in Cheongwon-gun, North Chungcheong Province. Cheong Hae Dae - Cheong Hae Dae used to be one of the two residences for the President of Republic of Korea. Although the president no longer uses this facility this compound is still under the administration of the Republic of Korea Navy, - It is located on one of the islands of Geoje-shi, South Gyeongsang Province. Chongri Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Prime Minister of Republic of Korea. The Prime Minister, however, does not work here, - Its address is 111-2 Samcheongdong-gil, Jongro-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea. It is located close to Cheong Wa Dae, gukhoeuijang Gonggwan - This is the official residence for the Speaker of the National Assembly of Republic of Korea. The Speaker, also, does not work here, - It is located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, where many foreign missions to Korea are located. Daebeobwonjang Gonggwan - This is the residence for the Chief Justice of Republic of Korea. The Chief Justice, also, does not work here, - It is also located in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Most ministers of state and heads of administrative regions also have official residences, although they are not listed here. S

4.
National Palace (Haiti)
–
The National Palace was the official residence of the President of Haiti, located in Port-au-Prince, facing Place LOuverture near the Champs de Mars. It was severely damaged during an earthquake in 2010. The ruins of the building were demolished in 2012 and plans to rebuild the palace have not been set. A reported total of four built for the countrys rulers, whether the colonial governor general. At one point in the tumultuous history, when the chief of state was without an official home due to damage. The earliest structure was the Government Palace, which was constructed in the 18th century as the residence of the French governor general of Saint-Domingue and its first Haitian inhabitant was the countrys first president of Haiti, General Alexandre Pétion. The structure was deemed nothing less than a palace, made of painted wood, a visitor in 1831 noted the building was large and convenient, but not handsome. It is of one story, and situated in front of the parade and its entrance is up a fine flight of steps, leading through a spacious portico into the hall of audience. The floors of all the rooms are of black and white marble. The furniture is tasteful and elegant, but not costly, was constructed with more attention to convenience than effect. In front of the palace stood the marble tomb of President Pétion, by 1850 the former governor generals residence had become known as the Imperial Palace, since it was the residence of Emperor Faustin I of Haiti and his wife, Empress Adélina. He also noted aspects of the decoration, The floor is white marble. On a richly carved table appeared a beautiful clock, representing the arms of Haiti—namely. The walls were decorated with two fine portraits, one represents the celebrated French conventionist, the Abbé Grégoire, and the other the reigning Emperor of Haiti. The latter does honor to the talent of a mulatto artist, an adjoining salon, where grand receptions are given, displayed portraits of all the great men of Haiti. The former Imperial Palace was destroyed on 19 December 1869 during a revolt that brought down the government of President Sylvain Salnave. The building was bombarded during the conflict by the man-of-war La Terreur, as a contemporary report stated, It appeared that Salnave had stowed away in vaults at the Palace a large quantity of ammunition. The shells fired from the Terreur, penetrating these vaults, caused several explosions

5.
Port-au-Prince
–
Port-au-Prince is the capital and most populous city of Haiti. The citys population was estimated at 987,310 in 2015 with the area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The metropolitan area is defined by the IHSI as including the communes of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Cite Soleil, Tabarre, Carrefour, and Pétion-Ville. The city of Port-au-Prince is on the Gulf of Gonâve, the bay on which the city lies and it was first incorporated under French colonial rule in 1749. The citys layout is similar to that of an amphitheatre, commercial districts are near the water, the city was catastrophically affected by a devastating earthquake in 2010, with large numbers of structures damaged or destroyed. Haitis government estimated the toll to be 230,000. It is said that a captain named de Saint-André named the area in 1706, after he sailed into the bay in a ship named Le Prince, hence Port-au-Prince to mean, Port of the Le Prince. However, the port and the region continued to be known as Hôpital. It was later renamed back to Port-au-Prince by Jacques I, Emperor of Haiti, when Haiti was divided between a kingdom in the north and a republic in the south, Port-au-Prince was the capital of the republic, under the leadership of Alexandre Pétion. Henri Christophe renamed the city Port-aux-Crimes after the assassination of Jacques I at Pont Larnage, prior to the arrival of Christopher Columbus, the island of Hispaniola was inhabited by people known as the Taíno, who arrived in approximately 2600 BC in large dugout canoes. They are believed to come primarily from what is now eastern Venezuela, by the time Columbus arrived in 1492 AD, the region was under the control of Bohechio, Taíno cacique Xaragua. He, like his predecessors, feared settling too close to the coast, such settlements would have proven to be tempting targets for the Caribes, instead, the region served as a hunting ground. The population of the region was approximately 400,000 at the time, with the arrival of the Spaniards, the Amerindians were forced to accept a protectorate, and Bohechio, childless at death, was succeeded by his sister, Anacaona, wife of the cacique Caonabo. The Spanish insisted on larger tributes, eventually, the Spanish colonial administration decided to rule directly, and in 1503, Nicolas Ovando, then governor, set about to put an end to the régime headed by Anacaona. He invited her and other leaders to a feast. Anacaona was spared, only to be hanged publicly some time later, through violence and murders, the Spanish settlers decimated the native population. Not long thereafter, Ovando founded Santa Maria del Puerto, the latter was first burned by French explorers in 1535, then again in 1592 by the English. These assaults proved to be too much for the Spanish colonial administration, around 1650, French pirates, or flibustiers, running out of room on the Île de la Tortue began to arrive on the coast, and established a colony at Trou-Borded

6.
Haiti
–
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic, the region was originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people. Spain discovered the island on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic, when Columbus initially landed in Haiti, he had thought he had found India or Asia. On Christmas Day 1492, Columbus flagship the Santa Maria ran aground north of what is now Limonade, the island was named La Española and claimed by Spain, which ruled until the early 17th century. Competing claims and settlements by the French led to the portion of the island being ceded to France. The development of plantations, worked by slaves brought from Africa. Upon his death in a prison in France, he was succeeded by his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the Haitian Revolution lasted just over a dozen years, and apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all the first leaders of government were former slaves. The Citadelle Laferrière is the largest fortress in the Americas, Henri Christophe – former slave and first king of Haiti, Henri I – built it to withstand a possible foreign attack. It has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas, most recently, in February 2004, a coup détat originating in the north of the country forced the resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A provisional government took control with security provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the name Haïti comes from the indigenous Taíno language which was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, land of high mountains. The h is silent in French and the ï in Haïti, is a mark used to show that the second vowel is pronounced separately. In English, this rule for the pronunciation is often disregarded, the name Haïti was restored by Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines as the official name of independent Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors. The Taíno name for the island was Haiti. The people had migrated over centuries into the Caribbean islands from South America, genetic studies show they were related to the Yanomami of the Amazon Basin. They also originated in Central and South America, after migrating to Caribbean islands, in the 15th century, the Taíno were pushed into the northeast Caribbean islands by the Caribs. In the Taíno societies of the Caribbean islands, the largest unit of organization was led by a cacique, or chief. The caciquedoms were tributary kingdoms, with payment consisting of harvests, Taíno cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several locations in the country. These have become symbols of Haiti and tourist attractions

7.
Term of office
–
A term of office is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject to re-election. Some jurisdictions exercise term limits, setting a number of terms an individual may hold in a particular office. Being the origin of the Westminster system, aspects of the United Kingdoms system of government are replicated in other countries. The monarch serves as head of state until his or her death or abdication, in the United Kingdom Members of Parliament in the House of Commons are elected for the duration of the parliament. Following dissolution of the Parliament, an election is held which consists of simultaneous elections for all seats. For most MPs this means that their terms of office are identical to the duration of the Parliament, an MP elected in a by-election mid-way through a Parliament, regardless of how long they have occupied the seat, is not exempt from facing re-election at the next general election. The Septennial Act 1715 provided that a Parliament expired seven years after it had been summoned, prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 parliaments had no minimum duration. Parliaments could be dissolved early by the monarch at the Prime Ministers request, the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 mandated that Parliaments should last their full five years. Early dissolution is possible, but under much more limited circumstances. Hereditary peers and life peers retain membership of the House of Lords for life, Lords Spiritual hold membership of the House of Lords until the end of their time as bishops, though a senior bishop may be made a life peer upon the end of their bishopric. The devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are variations on the system of government used at Westminster, the office of the leader of the devolved administrations has no numeric term limit imposed upon it. However, in the case of the Scottish Government and the Welsh Assembly Government there are fixed terms for which the legislatures can sit and this is imposed at four years. Elections may be held before this time but only if no administration can be formed, offices of local government other regional elected officials follow similar rules to the national offices discussed above, with persons elected to fixed terms of a few years. Federal judges have different terms in office, however, the majority of the federal judiciary, Article III judges, such as those of the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, and federal district courts, serve for life. The terms of office for officials in state governments according to the provisions of state constitutions. The term for state governors is four years in all states but Vermont and New Hampshire, the National Conference of State Legislatures reported in January 2007 that among state legislatures,44 states had terms of office for the lower house of the state legislature at two years. Five had terms of office at four years,37 states had terms of office for the upper house of the state legislature at four years

8.
Politics of Haiti
–
The Politics of Haiti have historically been tied to coup détats, regime changes, military juntas and internal conflicts. After the deposition of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Haitian politics entered a period of relative democratic stability. S. and French soldiers were on the ground in Haiti at the time, the first elections since the overthrow were held on February 8,2006 to elect a new President. René Préval was declared to have won with over 50 percent of the vote, in 2008, Parliament voted to dismiss President Prevals Prime Minister following severe rioting over food prices. His selected replacement for the post was rejected by Parliament, throwing the country into a period without a government. Yvon Neptune was appointed Prime Minister on March 4,2002, the constitutional Prime Minister, Yvon Neptune languished in jail for over a year, accused of complicity in an alleged massacre in Saint-Marc. United Nations officials, expressing skepticism towards the evidence, called for due process or his release. Having entered custody in June 2004, Neptune was formally charged on September 20,2005 and he was finally released on 28 July 2006. The last Prime Minister, Jacques-Édouard Alexis, entered office in 2006 and was removed in April 2008, michèle Pierre-Louis received approval to become the next Prime Minister from both houses in July. In 2011, singer Michel Martelly was elected the president of Haiti and his regime is rated by some as free and by some as authoritarian. He is expected to complete his term in 2016, in 2013, Haiti ranked #8 in the Fragile States Index An election had been held, awaiting for runoff. The election was censured by the Haitian public and Medias as not-free, according to an exit poll conducted by Haitian Sentinel, only 6% of the voters voted for Jovenel Moïse. The other presidential candidate, Jude Célestin, expressed his disapproval towards the lack of transparency of the CEP, Conseil Electoral Provisoire. 30 other candidates commented the election as controlled disregarding public trust, the lack of voter turnout has been a major issue for Haitian elections, as only approximately 15% of eligible voters will vote in an election. CEP does not release data about turnout in elections, however, according to unofficial population clocks, official data and electoral data. Proper rejection of votes had been a problem lately, as 7. 71% of all votes are rejected according to CEP, political corruption is a common problem in Haiti. The country has ranked as one of the most corrupt nations according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. In 2006, Haiti was ranked as the most corrupt out of the 163 that were surveyed for the Index. In 2012, Haiti was #165 out of #176, the International Red Cross reported that Haiti was 155th out of 159 countries in a similar survey of corrupt countries

9.
Haitian Parliament
–
The Haitian Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the Republic of Haiti, consisting of the upper house as the Senate and the lower house as the Chamber of Deputies. Both assemblies conduct legislative sessions at the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince, the Senate consists of thirty seats, with three members from each of the ten administrative departments. Prior to the creation of the Nippes Department in 2003, there were twenty-seven seats, Senators are elected by popular vote to six-year terms, with one-third elected every two years. After the elections of 2000, twenty-six of the then twenty-seven seats were held by Jean-Bertrand Aristides Fanmi Lavalas party, the Senate was not in session following the overthrow of Aristides government in February 2004. An interim government was put in following the rebellion. The Senate was re-established and elections were held on 21 April 2006, in the Senate elections of 2009 LESPWA won five seats, and five parties won one seat each, as well as an independent. The Chamber of Deputies has ninety-nine members who are elected by vote to four-year terms. Candidates from Aristides Fanmi Lavalas party took seventy-three of the then eighty-three seats in the 2000 elections, following the coup détat and the overthrow of the government in February 2004, the Chamber of Deputies remained empty. It was re-established along with the Senate, and elections were held on 21 April 2006, the next Chamber elections are scheduled for 2010. The National Assembly is a joint session of Parliament, the National Assembly is convened for specific purposes laid out in the Constitution. Meetings of the National Assembly are presided over by the President of the Senate, the Secretaries of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies also serve as Secretaries of the National Assembly. The National Assembly building was destroyed during the earthquake on 12 January 2010, the Legislative Palace was among the many structures which were virtually destroyed by the earthquake on January 12,2010. Parliament resumed sitting shortly after the earthquake in a temporary classroom, on 22 November 2011 the government opened new temporary facilities for the Parliament, built with the help of the USAID program. On 27 December 2012 the first stone of the new Legislative Palace was laid, list of legislatures by country ^ citations are Article numbers of the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of Haiti. Miami, Florida, Librairie Au Service de la Culture and this article incorporates public domain material from the CIA World Factbook website https, //www. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index. html

10.
Chamber of Deputies (Haiti)
–
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of Haitis bicameral legislature, the National Assembly. The upper house of the National Assembly is the Senate of Haiti, the Chamber has 119 members who are elected by popular vote to four-year terms. There are no limits for Deputies, they may be re-elected indefinitely. In March 2015 a new decree stated that the new Chamber of Deputies have 118 members. On 13 March, President Michel Martelly issued a decree that split the Cerca La Source in two constituencies, and therefore increasing the number of deputies up to 119, candidates from Jean-Bertrand Aristides Fanmi Lavalas party took seventy-three of the then eighty-three seats in the 2000 elections. Following the overthrow of the government in February 2004, a government was established. The terms of the Deputies expired during the rule of the interim government and it was re-established along with the Senate, and elections were scheduled for November 2005. After many delays and missed deadlines, elections were held on 21 April 2006. The Deputies commenced meeting in June 2006, the exact makeup of the Chamber remains unknown as the Provisional Electoral Committee has not posted the results. The next Chamber elections were scheduled for 2010, there were new parliamentary elections in 2015–16. cia. gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/index. html. Miami, Florida, Librairie Au Service de la Culture

11.
Senate (Haiti)
–
The Senate is the upper house of Haitis bicameral legislature, the National Assembly. The lower house of the National Assembly is the Chamber of Deputies, the Senate consists of thirty seats, with three members from each of the ten administrative departments. Prior to the creation of the Nippes Department in 2003, there were twenty-seven seats, Senators are elected by popular vote to six-year terms, with one-third elected every two years. There are no limits for Senators, they may be re-elected indefinitely. After the elections of 2000, twenty-six of the then twenty-seven seats were held by Jean-Bertrand Aristides Fanmi Lavalas party, the Senate was not in session following the overthrow of Aristides government in February 2004. An interim government was put in following the rebellion. The Senate was re-established and elections were held on 21 April 2006, the next elections were scheduled to occur in 2008, when one-third of the Senate seats was opened. This led to a dysfunctional National assembly, in the 2015 parliamentary elections these two-thirds were to be filled with new elected members, completing the 30 senators. Miami, Florida, Librairie Au Service de la Culture

12.
Prime Minister of Haiti
–
The Prime Minister of Haiti is the head of government of Haiti. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President and ratified by the National Assembly, the Prime Minister appoints the Ministers and Secretaries of State and goes before the National Assembly to obtain a vote of confidence for his declaration of general policy. The Prime Minister enforces the laws and, along with the President, is responsible for national defense, in addition, the Prime Minister oversees the National Commission on Government Procurement, a decentralized body. President of Haiti List of heads of state of Haiti List of Prime Ministers of Haiti Notes Footnotes

13.
Supreme Court of Haiti
–
The Supreme Court of Haiti is the highest court in the Haitian legal system. The Supreme Court building is located in Port-au-Prince, the Constitution of Haiti stipulates that Supreme Court justices are appointed by the President from a list submitted by the Senate of three persons per court seat. It is unsure whether they are appointed for 10 years or for life, the Palais de Justice was heavily damaged and partially collapsed as a result of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Ertha Pascal-Trouillot Émile Jonassaint Clausel Debrosses Boniface Alexandre Arnel Alexis Joseph Jules Cantave

14.
Elections in Haiti
–
Elections in Haiti gives information on election and election results in Haiti. The Constitution of Haiti provides for the election of the President, Parliament, the current president is Michel Joseph Martelly, who received 68 percent of the votes in the Haitian general election, 2010–2011. Elections, delayed after an impasse, are planned to be held for both the Presidency and Parliament in 2015. The latest presidential election took place on November 28,2010, no candidate received a majority of the vote cast in the first-round election. A second round was scheduled for March 20,2011 with the two highest vote-getters, Mirlande Manigat and Jude Célestin, protests claiming fraudulent voting resulted in the electoral commission removing Célestin from the race. This promoted Martelly from his original third-place finish in the first-round, the last presidential election was held on 28 November 2010 with a runoff on 20 March 2011. Michel Martelly won the election held on 20 March 2011 with 67. 6% of the vote against 31. 7% for Mirlande Manigat and was sworn into office on 14 May 2011. The next presidential election is to be held in 2015, a president may not serve consecutive terms. The President named as Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, who was ratified by the National Assembly. Prime Minister Lamothe took office on 16 May 2012 and he subsequently resigned in 2014 after a series of protests. The bicameral National Assembly of Haiti consists of the Chamber of Deputies, the Chamber of Deputies has ninety-nine members, who are elected by popular vote for four-year terms. The Senate consists of thirty members elected by vote to serve six-year terms. The last elections were held on 28 November 2010 with run-off elections on 20 March 2011, the next Senate election, for one third of the seats, was to be held in 2012 but was not called. On 22 November 2013, President Martelly convened a session of the National Assembly. Adam Carrs Election Archive International Mission for Monitoring Haitian Elections IFES Observer Mission in Haiti Photo Gallery European Union Election Observation Mission to Haiti

15.
Haitian general election, 2006
–
The elections finally took place on February 7,2006, with turnout of around 60%. All 99 seats in the Chamber of Deputies of Haiti and all 30 seats in the Senate of Haiti were also contested, run-off elections for the Chamber of Deputies of Haiti were held on 21 April 2006, with around 28% turnout. According to official statistics, René Préval of the Lespwa coalition led the count for President with 48. 8% of the vote, Préval spoke of fraud, and voting bags and marked ballots found in a garbage dump triggered street protests by his supporters. The United Nations Mission in Haiti spoke of an apparent grave breach of the electoral process. 1%, a second round of voting for President was thus avoided. The elections took place as Haiti was under the occupation of MINUSTAH, on election day, due to many organizational problems, a shortage of election workers, missing ballots, and extremely long line-ups, the voting hours were extended by at least two hours. There are many reasons the Haitian elections were delayed, due to a lack of funding, election officials were not able to meet the voter registration deadline set for early August. However, the inability to register voters in the time allocated was the reason for the extensions. There was also concern that only 800-900 voting stations would be placed throughout Haiti, on September 7 the dates were again changed, this time for the presidential elections. The first round of voting was moved back to November 20, on November 18 the date for presidential and legislative elections were postponed for the third time, they were to take place on December 27, with a run-off to be held on January 31,2006. On November 25, the date was set back yet again, making this the fourth time total, they were to place on January 8 and February 15,2006. The election is being postponed yet again but a date has not yet been announced, the municipal elections which were originally set to be held on December 11,2005, have been postponed to March 5,2006. When announced officially, they will be the set of election dates for a new government since July. Originally, the hand-over of power to the government was set for February 7,2006. The first round of elections for president and parliament was held on 7 February 2006. Runoff elections for Chamber of Deputies of Haiti were held on April 21, two opinion polls were taken in November 2005. The first to be released was the poll taken by CID Gallup, cID-Gallup NOAH-TDG Thirty five presidential candidates appeared in the ballot. Among the more known figures were René Préval, a prime minister and president, and a Lavalas member, Guy Philippe. Préval is a president of Haiti who served from 1996 to 2000

16.
Haitian presidential election, 2015
–
Presidential elections were held in Haiti on 25 October 2015, alongside local elections and the second round of the legislative elections. Incumbent President Michel Martelly was constitutionally barred from running, as no candidate received a majority of the vote in the first round, a runoff was to be held on 27 December 2015. On 22 December the Conseil Electoral Provisoire announced that the runoff has been postponed indefinitely, however, on 1 January 2016 President Michel Martelly announced that the runoff would be held on 17 January, but on 7 January the President changed the date to 24 January. On 20 January, Jude Célestin issued a statement that calls whatever the person who will participate in this January 24, is a traitor to the Nation, the run-off date was later agreed to take place on 24 April 2016. However, according to Reuters and several sources, the runoff is postponed again with an indeterminate date most likely after October 2016. United Nations Secretary-General has expressed concern that the agreed upon date for holding elections in Haiti was not met. Seventy candidates were initially in the race, including 64 men, two candidates are running as independents, Mario Andresol and Diony Monestime. As of 28 May 2015,41 challenges had been filed against 23 of the 70 candidates, including Andresol, the Departmental Bureau of Electoral Disputes heard those disputes, and will decide whether those individuals will be excluded from the presidential race. The final list of 58 candidates was published on 12 June, according to preliminary results posted by the Provisional Electoral Council, Jovenel Moïse obtained 32. 81% of the preferences, and Jude Célestin won 25. 27%. After the preliminary results were published on 25 October 2015, Jude Célestin said he did not recognize them and his criticism was joined by five other presidential candidates. They issued a joint statement denouncing the results as “anti-democratic” and called for the vote to be respected. The protesters threw rocks and burned tires, the police responded with tear gas and made some arrests. The police also stopped and searched the vehicle of a top government prosecutor, Claudy Gassant. On 30 May 2016 the commission, headed by Pierre François Benoît, according to the U. S. Deputy Spokesman, for example, The United States regrets the decision by the Provisional Electoral Council to restart the presidential elections from the first round. This will increase time and resources needed to complete the 2015 electoral process, the United States regrets that the electoral process has extended yet again, with the president-elect unlikely to be installed before February 7th,2017. American officials discouraged rerunning the elections after spending $33 million on funding them, in an April 2016 visit to Haiti, Special Coordinator Kenneth H. Merten said that he hoped the verification process would be very, very fast and that it would not change the election results. Secretary of State John Kerry also emphasized the need to accept an elected government, the U. S. Government responded to this report by announcing its refusal to provide funding to complete the Haitian elections. This development may prohibit international observers, often funded by the U. S. from observing the next electoral sessions

17.
Administrative divisions of Haiti
–
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti and formerly called Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican Republic, the region was originally inhabited by the indigenous Taíno people. Spain discovered the island on 5 December 1492 during the first voyage of Christopher Columbus across the Atlantic, when Columbus initially landed in Haiti, he had thought he had found India or Asia. On Christmas Day 1492, Columbus flagship the Santa Maria ran aground north of what is now Limonade, the island was named La Española and claimed by Spain, which ruled until the early 17th century. Competing claims and settlements by the French led to the portion of the island being ceded to France. The development of plantations, worked by slaves brought from Africa. Upon his death in a prison in France, he was succeeded by his lieutenant, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, the Haitian Revolution lasted just over a dozen years, and apart from Alexandre Pétion, the first President of the Republic, all the first leaders of government were former slaves. The Citadelle Laferrière is the largest fortress in the Americas, Henri Christophe – former slave and first king of Haiti, Henri I – built it to withstand a possible foreign attack. It has the lowest Human Development Index in the Americas, most recently, in February 2004, a coup détat originating in the north of the country forced the resignation and exile of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide. A provisional government took control with security provided by the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, the name Haïti comes from the indigenous Taíno language which was the native name given to the entire island of Hispaniola to mean, land of high mountains. The h is silent in French and the ï in Haïti, is a mark used to show that the second vowel is pronounced separately. In English, this rule for the pronunciation is often disregarded, the name Haïti was restored by Haitian revolutionary Jean-Jacques Dessalines as the official name of independent Saint-Domingue, as a tribute to the Amerindian predecessors. The Taíno name for the island was Haiti. The people had migrated over centuries into the Caribbean islands from South America, genetic studies show they were related to the Yanomami of the Amazon Basin. They also originated in Central and South America, after migrating to Caribbean islands, in the 15th century, the Taíno were pushed into the northeast Caribbean islands by the Caribs. In the Taíno societies of the Caribbean islands, the largest unit of organization was led by a cacique, or chief. The caciquedoms were tributary kingdoms, with payment consisting of harvests, Taíno cultural artifacts include cave paintings in several locations in the country. These have become symbols of Haiti and tourist attractions

18.
Departments of Haiti
–
In the administrative divisions of Haiti, the department is divided administratively into ten departments. The departments are divided into 42 arrondissements,145 communes. In 2014, there was a proposal by the Chamber of Deputies to increase the number of departments from 10 to 14 —perhaps as high as 16, each departement has a departmental council compound of three members elected by the departmental assembly for a 4-year term. The departmental council is led by a president, the council is the executive organ of the department. Each department has an departmental assembly who assists the council in its work, the departmental assembly is the deliberative organ of the department. The members of the assembly are also elected for 4 years. The departmental assembly is led by a president, three Departments have roots in the former French colony of Saint-Domingue, namely, the Nord, Sud, and Ouest. In 1801, under Governor-General Toussaint Louverture, the provinces, became known as departments, sometime during the 19th century, Artibonite and Nord-Ouest were created out of Nord and Ouest departments. In 1962 during the reign of Duvalier, four new departments were created out of a territorial redistribution and these departments were, Centre, GrandAnse, Nord-Ouest and Sud-Est. In 2003, a department was created out GrandAnse, called Nippes. In the 1990s, before the creation of Nippes, the 10th Department was a commonly used in regards to the Haitian diaspora. As of the 21st century, it known as the 11th. Artibonite Centre GrandAnse Nippes Nord Nord-Est Nord-Ouest Ouest Sud-Est Sud The following is a table of the departments, data based on 2015 estimates from the Haitian government. ISO 3166-2, HT Haiti Arrondissements of Haiti Communes of Haiti List of Caribbean First-level Subdivisions by Total Area Code Postal Haitien

19.
Arrondissements of Haiti
–
The ten Departments of Haiti are divided into 42 arrondissements, which may roughly be translated into English as districts. A more etymologically precise, but less allegorical, definition would be encirclements, from the French arrondir, because no single translation adequately conveys the layered sense of the word, the French term is usually used in English writing. Arrondissements are further divided into communes and communal sections, - Arrondissements et communes d’Haiti Haiti Departments of Haiti Communes of Haiti

20.
Foreign relations of Haiti
–
Haiti was one of the original members of the League of Nations, and was one of the original members of the United Nations and several of its specialized and related agencies. It is also a member of the Organization of American States. It maintains diplomatic relations with 37 countries, mostly in Europe, Haiti also has diplomatic relations with the Republic of China, commonly known as Taiwan, instead of the Peoples Republic of China. Taiwan is one of Haitis major trading partners and the two countries maintain very friendly relations, Haiti has also re-established very warm relations with Cuba in which a major act of bilateral cooperation has resulted in Cubas large contribution of doctors to the country. The Haitian government has shown admiration to Fidel Castro and his administration. The international community rallied to Haitis defense during the 1991-94 period of military rule. At its peak, the MNF included roughly 21,000 troops, mostly Americans, within six months, the troop level was gradually reduced as the MNF transitioned to a 6,000 strong peacekeeping force, the UN Mission in Haiti. UNMIH was charged with maintaining the environment, which the MNF had helped establish. A total of 38 countries participated in UNMIH, disbursements were largely conditioned on progress in economic reform. The electoral crisis that has brewed in the aftermath of the May 21,2000 local, major donors are led by the United States, with the largest bilateral assistance program, and also include Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Republic of China. Visas are required for citizens of Colombia and Panama due to the actions of nationals of those two countries in using Haiti as a point for narcotic drugs bound for the United States. Panamas proximity to Colombia and their thriving off-shore banking industry has lured many traffickers to use that nation, once in Puerto Rico, drugs can easily reach the United States due to the absence of both immigration and customs between that island and the mainland. Benin contributed a contingency of 32 police/civilian personnel to MINUSTAH, the two countries share an extensive cultural history by way of the Atlantic slave trade and the resulting importing of Vodou as a religious force in Haitian society. The earthquake was followed, among many reactions, by an outburst of solidarity prayers in Benin with the victims, traditional ceremonies were organized to appease the spirits and seek the blessing of ancestors for the Haitians. During the unsettled period from 1957 to 1990, Canada received many Haitian refugees, Canada participated in various international interventions in Haiti between 1994 and 2004, and continues to provide substantial aid to Haiti, the second poorest country in the western hemisphere. Canada has an embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti has an embassy in Ottawa and a consulate-general in Montreal. The police are planned to withdraw from Haiti in 2011, the periodic influxes of Haitian economic migrants across the border have also strained relations between the two countries at various recent times. France has an embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti has an embassy in Paris and consulates-general in Cayenne, French Guiana and in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe

21.
French language
–
French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth

22.
Head of state
–
A head of state is the public persona that officially represents the national unity and legitimacy of a sovereign state. In some countries, the head of state is a figurehead with limited or no executive power, while in others. Former French president Charles de Gaulle, while developing the current Constitution of France, some academic writers discuss states and governments in terms of models. An independent nation state normally has a head of state, the non-executive model, in which the head of state has either none or very limited executive powers, and mainly has a ceremonial and symbolic role. In parliamentary systems the head of state may be merely the chief executive officer, heading the executive branch of the state. This accountability and legitimacy requires that someone be chosen who has a majority support in the legislature and it also gives the legislature the right to vote down the head of government and their cabinet, forcing it either to resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution. In parliamentary constitutional monarchies, the legitimacy of the head of state typically derives from the tacit approval of the people via the elected representatives. In reality, numerous variants exist to the position of a head of state within a parliamentary system, usually, the king had the power of declaring war without previous consent of the parliament. For example, under the 1848 constitution of the Kingdom of Italy, the Statuto Albertino—the parliamentary approval to the government appointed by the king—was customary, so, Italy had a de facto parliamentarian system, but a de jure presidential system. These officials are excluded completely from the executive, they do not possess even theoretical executive powers or any role, even formal, hence their states governments are not referred to by the traditional parliamentary model head of state styles of His/Her Majestys Government or His/Her Excellencys Government. Within this general category, variants in terms of powers and functions may exist, the constitution explicitly vests all executive power in the Cabinet, who is chaired by the prime minister and responsible to the Diet. The emperor is defined in the constitution as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people and he is a ceremonial figurehead with no independent discretionary powers related to the governance of Japan. Today, the Speaker of the Riksdag appoints the prime minister, Cabinet members are appointed and dismissed at the sole discretion of the prime minister. In contrast, the contact the President of Ireland has with the Irish government is through a formal briefing session given by the taoiseach to the president. However, he or she has no access to documentation and all access to ministers goes through the Department of the Taoiseach. The president does, however, hold limited reserve powers, such as referring a bill to the court to test its constitutionality. The most extreme non-executive republican Head of State is the President of Israel, semi-presidential systems combine features of presidential and parliamentary systems, notably a requirement that the government be answerable to both the president and the legislature. The constitution of the Fifth French Republic provides for a minister who is chosen by the president

23.
Penal labour
–
Penal labour is a generic term for various kinds of unfree labour which prisoners are required to perform, typically manual labour. The work may be light or hard, depending on the context, forms of sentence involving penal labour have included involuntary servitude, penal servitude and imprisonment with hard labour. The term may refer to several related scenarios, labour as a form of punishment, the system used as a means to secure labour. These scenarios can be applied to those imprisoned for political, religious, war, large-scale implementations of penal labour include labour camps, prison farms, penal colonies, penal military units, penal transportation, or aboard prison ships. Punitive labour, also known as labour, prison labour. Punitive labour encompasses two types, productive labour, such as work, and intrinsically pointless tasks used as primitive occupational therapy. Sometimes authorities turn prison labour into an industry, as on a farm or in a prison workshop. On the other hand, for example in Victorian prisons, inmates commonly were made to work the treadmill, in some cases, similar punishments included turning the crank machine or carrying cannonballs. Semi-punitive labour also included oakum-picking, teasing apart old tarry rope to make caulking material for sailing vessels, section 1 of the Penal Servitude Act 1891 makes provision for enactments which authorise a sentence of penal servitude but do not specify a maximum duration. It must now be subject to section 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1948. Sentences of penal servitude were served in prisons and were controlled by the Home Office. After sentencing, convicts would be classified according to the seriousness of the offence of which they were convicted, first time offenders would be classified in the Star class, persons not suitable for the Star class, but without serious convictions would be classified in the intermediate class. Habitual offenders would be classified in the Recidivist class, care was taken to ensure that convicts in one class did not mix with convicts in another. Penal servitude included hard labour as a standard feature, notable recipients of hard labour under British law include Oscar Wilde and John William Gott. In Inveraray Jail from 1839 prisoners worked up to ten hours a day, most male prisoners made herring nets or picked oakum, those with skills were often employed where the skills could be used, such as shoemaking, tailoring or joinery. Female prisoners picked oakum, knitted stockings or sewed, forms of labour for punishment included the treadmill, shot drill, and the crank machine. Prisoners had to six or more hours a day, climbing the equivalent of 5,000 to 14,000 vertical feet. While the purpose was mainly punitive, the mills could have used to grind grain, pump water

24.
Real property
–
The term is historic, arising from the now-discontinued form of action, which distinguished between real property disputes and personal property disputes. Personal property was, and continues to be, all property that is not real property, in countries with personal ownership of real property, civil law protects the status of real property in real-estate markets, where estate agents work in the market of buying and selling real estate. Scottish civil law calls real property heritable property, and in French-based law, the word real derives from Latin res, which was used in Middle English to mean relating to things, especially real property. In common law, real property was property that could be protected by some form of action, in contrast to personal property. As a result of this formalist approach, some things the common law deems to be land would not be classified as such by most modern legal systems, for example an advowson was real property. By contrast the rights of a leaseholder originate in personal actions, the law now broadly distinguishes between real property and personal property. The conceptual difference was between immovable property, which would transfer title along with the land, and movable property, bethell contains much historical information on the historical evolution of real property and property rights. To be of any value a claim to any property must be accompanied by a verifiable, in many cases, a description refers to one or more lots on a plat, a map of property boundaries kept in public records. The law recognizes different sorts of interests, called estates, in real property, the type of estate is generally determined by the language of the deed, lease, bill of sale, will, land grant, etc. through which the estate was acquired. Estates are distinguished by the property rights that vest in each. A party enjoying an estate is called a tenant, some important types of estates in land include, Fee simple, An estate of indefinite duration, that can be freely transferred. The most common and perhaps most absolute type of estate, under which the tenant enjoys the greatest discretion over the disposal of the property, conditional Fee simple, An estate lasting forever as long as one or more conditions stipulated by the deeds grantor does not occur. If such a condition does occur, the property reverts to the grantor, or a remainder interest is passed on to a third party, Fee tail, An estate which, upon the death of the tenant, is transferred to his or her heirs. Life estate, An estate lasting for the life of the grantee. If a life estate can be sold, a sale does not change its duration, a life estate pur autre vie is held by one person for the natural life of another person. Such an estate may arise if the life tenant sells her life estate to another. For example, an apartment-dweller with a one-year lease has an estate in her apartment. Lessees typically agree to pay a rent to the lessor

25.
Runoff election
–
The two-round system is a voting method used to elect a single winner, where the voter casts a single vote for their chosen candidate. The two-round system is used around the world for the election of legislative bodies, for example, it is used in French presidential, legislative, and departmental elections. In Italy, it is used to elect mayors, but also to decide which party or coalition receives a majority bonus in city councils. Historically it was used in the German Empire of 1871–1918, in New Zealand in the 1908 and 1911 elections, the two-round system is known as run-off voting in the United States, where the second round is known as a run-off election. Run-off voting is sometimes used as a generic term to describe any method involving a number of rounds of voting. By this broader definition the system is not the only form of run-off voting. However the subject of article is the two-round system. In Canada, for example, candidates for party leadership. It is like a method, except the one candidate must win a simple majority. Candidates with the fewest votes or candidates who want to move their support to other candidates may move to remove themselves from the next vote. In both rounds of an election conducted using runoff voting, the voter marks a X beside his/her favorite candidate. If no candidate has a majority of votes in the first round. In the second round, because there are two candidates, one candidate will achieve an absolute majority. In the second round, each voter is free to change the candidate he votes for, even if his preferred candidate has not yet been eliminated. Some variants of the system use a different rule for choosing candidates for the second round. Under such methods, it is sufficient for a candidate to receive a plurality of votes to be elected in the second round. Under some variants of runoff voting, there is no rule for eliminating candidates. In both elections, the communist candidate, Ernst Thälmann, did not withdraw and ran in the second round, in 1925, that probably ensured the election of Paul von Hindenburg, rather than Wilhelm Marx, the centrist candidate

26.
Michel Martelly
–
Michel Joseph Martelly was the President of Haiti from May 2011 until February 2016. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Martelly is one of Haitis best-known musicians for over a decade, for business and musical reasons, Martelly has moved a number of times between the United States and Haiti. When travelling to the United States, Martelly mostly stays in Florida, as a singer and keyboardist, Sweet Micky is known for his Kompa music, a style of Haitian dance music sung predominantly in the Haitian Creole language, but he blended this with other styles. Martelly popularized a new generation of compas with smaller bands relying on synthesizers, from 1989 to 2008, Martelly recorded over a dozen studio albums and a number of live CDs. In 1995, after Aristide had been restored to office, Martellys name appeared on a hit list of coup supporters, during this time, he released a song, Prezidan, an exuberant ditty that called for a president who played compas. However, he did not run for office until 2010. Martelly won the Haitian general election, 2010–2011 for his party Repons Peyizan, Martelly had come in third in the first round of the election, until the Organization of American States forced Jude Célestin to withdraw due to alleged fraud. Martelly assumed his position of the President of Haiti on 14 May 2011 and his election campaign included a promise to reinstate the nations military, which had been abolished in the 1990s by Aristide. Martelly was born in Port-au-Prince, the son of Gerard Martelly, on his mothers side, his grandfather Auguste de Pradine was a troubadour who wrote comic protest songs against the 1915-34 United States occupation of Haiti. After graduating from school at the Institution of Saint Louis de Gonzague, Martelly enlisted in the Haitian Military Academy. In 1984, he moved to the United States, and worked in construction, in 1986, after one semester, he returned to Haiti just as Jean-Claude Duvalier, then president-for-life, was heading into exile. In 1987, Martelly returned to Miami with his then-girlfriend, Sophia Saint-Rémy and they returned to Haiti in 1988. Martelly sang playful, romantic numbers over a slow méringue beat called compas, Martelly has been heralded as a pioneer of a unique genre of compas, a style of Haitian dance music sung predominantly in the Haitian Creole language. Originally, compas, was the creation of Nemours Jean-Baptiste, Martellys live performances and recordings are sometimes laced with physical humor and humorous sociopolitical commentaries and satires. Although he is the most recognized musician and public personality in Haiti, by 1988, Martellys musical talent, stage craft, and his pattering style of compas had gained tremendous popularity at El Rancho Hotel and Casino and The Florville, another local venues. That year, he recorded his first single, Ou La La, during the period of about 1988-2008 Martelly, using his stage name Sweet Micky, recorded fourteen studio albums and a number of live CDs. His music features slow méringue, compas, troubadour, carnival méringue, rabòday, as Jean proclaims on The Carnival, Surprise - its Sweet Micky, yall. Also in 1997, Martelly released an album containing one of his most celebrated hits, the song is an adaptation of Angola, composed by the renowned artist/composer/record producer Ramiro Mendes, first recorded by Cesária Évora, the legendary Cape Verdean singer

27.
Declaration of war
–
A declaration of war is a formal act by which one state goes to war against another. The declaration is a speech act by an authorized party of a national government. The legality of who is competent to declare war varies between nations and forms of government, in many nations, that power is given to the head of state or sovereign. In other cases, something short of a declaration of war, such as a letter of marque or a covert operation. The official international protocol for declaring war was defined in the Hague Convention of 1907 on the Opening of Hostilities, in addition to this, non-state or terrorist organizations may claim to or be described as declaring war when engaging in violent acts. These declarations may have no standing in themselves, but they may still act as a call to arms for supporters of these organizations. A definition of the three ways of thinking about a declaration of war was developed by Saikrishna Prakash. He argues that a declaration of war can be seen from three perspectives, Categorical theory, under which the power to declare war includes the power to all decisions to enter war. This means that the power to declare war in effect rests with the ability to engage in combat, pragmatic theory, which states that the power to declare war can be made unnecessary by an act of war in itself. Formalist theory, under which the power to declare war constitutes only a formal documentation of executive war-making decisions and this sits closest to traditional legal conceptions of what it is to declare a war. An absolute declaration of war declares war absolutely due to the failure of negotiations over the grievances and remedies found in the conditional declaration and it ends absolutely the state and condition of peace, replacing it with the state and condition of war until such time as peace is restored. Degree of justification of the war A reasoned declaration of war justifies the resort to war by stating the grievances that have made peace intolerable, an unreasoned declaration of war does not justify the resort to war, or does so only minimally. Degree of perfection with which the act was made A perfect declaration of war is a formal, solemn speech act made in accordance with the proper laws, rites. An imperfect declaration of war is an informal, unsolemn speech act not made in accordance with the laws, rites. The practice of declaring war has a long history, the ancient Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh gives an account of it, as does the Old Testament. However, the practice of declaring war was not always strictly followed, the primary multilateral treaties governing such declarations are the Hague Conventions. The utility of formal declarations of war has always been questioned, the Hague Convention of 1907 called Convention Relative to the Opening of Hostilities gives the international actions a country should perform when opening hostilities. Neutral Powers, nevertheless, cannot rely on the absence of notification if it is established that they were in fact aware of the existence of a state of war

28.
Ambassador
–
The word is also often used more liberally for persons who are known, without national appointment, to represent certain professions, activities and fields of endeavor such as sales. An ambassador is the government representative stationed in a foreign capital. The host country typically allows the control of specific territory called an embassy, whose territory, staff. Under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an ambassador has the highest diplomatic rank, countries may choose to maintain diplomatic relations at a lower level by appointing a chargé daffaires in place of an ambassador. The equivalent to an Ambassador exchanged among members of the Commonwealth of Nations are known as High Commissioners, the ambassadors of the Holy See are known as Papal or Apostolic Nuncios. The first known usage of the term is known to be in the 14th century, the foreign government to which an ambassador is assigned must first approve the person. In some cases, the government might reverse its approval by declaring the diplomat a persona non grata. This kind of declaration usually results in recalling the ambassador to his/her home nation, due to the advent of modern travel, todays world is a much smaller place in relative terms. As an officer of the service, an ambassador is expected to protect the citizens of his home country in the host country. Another result of the increase in travel is the growth of trade between nations. For most countries, the economy is now part of the global economy. This means increased opportunities to sell and trade with other nations, one of the cornerstones of foreign diplomatic missions is to work for peace. This task can grow into a fight against international terrorism, the trade, international bribery. Ambassadors help stop these acts, helping people across the globe and these activities are important and sensitive and are usually carried out in coordination with the Defense Ministry of the state and the head of the nation. The rise of the diplomatic system was a product of the Italian Renaissance. The use of ambassadors became a strategy in Italy during the 17th century. The political changes in Italy altered the role of ambassadors in diplomatic affairs, because many of the states in Italy were small in size, they were particularly vulnerable to larger states. The ambassador system was used to disperse information and to protect the vulnerable states

29.
Diplomatic rank
–
Diplomatic rank is the system of professional and social rank used in the world of diplomacy and international relations. The current system of ranks was established by the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. There are three ranks, two of which remain in use, Ambassador, an Ambassador is a head of mission who is accredited to the receiving countrys head of state. They head a mission known as an embassy, which is usually headquartered in a chancery in the receiving states capital. A papal nuncio is considered to have Ambassadorial rank, and they preside over a nunciature, commonwealth countries send a High Commissioner who presides over a High Commission and has the same diplomatic rank as an Ambassador. A Minister is a head of mission who is accredited to the countrys head of state. A Minister heads a legation rather than an embassy, however, the last legations were upgraded to embassies in the late 1960s, and the rank of Minister is now obsolete. An envoy or an internuncio is also considered to have the rank of Minister. A chargé daffaires ad interim is a diplomat who heads a diplomatic mission in the absence of an ambassador. The body of accredited to a country form the Diplomatic corps. Ambassadors have precedence over chargés, and precedence within each rank is determined by the date on which diplomatic credentials were presented, the longest-serving ambassador is the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps, who speaks for the entire diplomatic corps on matters of diplomatic privilege and protocol. In many Catholic countries, the nuncio is always considered the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps. Envoys and Ministers represented their government, and were accredited to the receiving sovereign, Ministers resident formed an intermediate class, between ministers and chargés. This rank was created by the Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle Chargés daffaires were accredited by their Foreign Minister to the receiving Foreign Minister, the rank of Envoy was short for Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary, and was more commonly known as Minister. For example, the Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States to the French Empire was known as the United States Minister to France, an Ambassador was regarded as the personal representative of his sovereign as well as his government. Only major monarchies would exchange Ambassadors with each other, while smaller monarchies, because of diplomatic reciprocity, Great Powers would only send a Minister to a smaller monarchy or a republic. For example, in the years of the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom sent an Ambassador to Paris, while Sweden-Norway. The rule that only monarchies could send Ambassadors was more honored in the breach than the observance and this had been true even before the Congress of Vienna, as England continued to appoint ambassadors after becoming a republic in 1649. Countries that overthrew their monarchs proved to be unwilling to accept the lower rank accorded to a republic, after the Franco-Prussian War, the French Third Republic continued to send and receive ambassadors

30.
Exequatur
–
An exequatur is a legal document issued by a sovereign authority allowing a right to be enforced in the authoritys domain of competence. The word is a form of the Latin verb exequi, if a consul is not appointed by commission, the consul receives no exequatur, the government will usually provide some other means to recognize the consul. The exequatur may be withdrawn, but in practice, where a consul is obnoxious, an exequatur is a legal instrument issued by secular authorities in Roman Catholic nations to ensure that Papal teachings have legal force within their jurisdiction. The tradition began during the time of the Western Schism, when the legitimately elected Pope gave secular leaders permission to verify the authenticity of papal decrees before enforcing them. In Puerto Rico, an exequatur is a document that validates court orders issued by a United States civil court as if such order had been issued by a court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico

31.
Consul (representative)
–
A consul is distinguished from an ambassador, the latter being a representative from one head of state to another. In Classical Greece, some of the functions of the modern consul were fulfilled by a proxenos, unlike the modern position, this was a citizen of the host polity. The proxenos was usually a rich merchant who had ties with another city. The position of proxenos was often hereditary in a particular family, modern honorary consuls fulfil a function that is to a degree similar to that of the ancient Greek institution. Consuls were the highest magistrates of the Roman Republic and Roman Empire, the term was revived by the Republic of Genoa, which, unlike Rome, bestowed it on various state officials, not necessarily restricted to the highest. The Consolat de mar was an institution established under the reign of Peter IV of Aragon in the fourteenth century and it was primarily a judicial body, administering maritime and commercial law as Lex Mercatoria. Although the Consolat de mar was established by the Corts General of the Crown of Aragon and this distinction between consular and diplomatic functions remains to this day. Modern consuls retain limited powers to settle disputes on ships from their country. The Consulado de mercaderes was set up in 1543 in Seville as a merchant guild to control trade with Latin America, as such, it had branches in the principal cities of the Spanish colonies. The connection of consul with trade and commercial law is retained in French, in francophone countries, a juge consulaire is a non-professional judge elected by the chamber of commerce to settle commercial disputes in the first instance. Like the term embassy, the consulate may refer not only to the office of consul. The consulate may share premises with the embassy itself, a consul of the highest rank is termed a consul-general, and his or her office a consulate-general. He or she typically has one or several deputy consuls-general, consuls, vice-consuls, consulates-general need not have their offices in the capital city, but rather could have them in the most important/appropriate cities in terms of bilateral relations. In the United States, for example, most countries have a consulate-general in New York City, consuls of various ranks may have specific legal authority for certain activities, such as notarizing documents. As such, diplomatic personnel with other responsibilities may receive consular letters patent, aside from those outlined in the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, there are few formal requirements outlining what a consular official must do. Nonetheless, consulates proper will be headed by consuls of various ranks, and although it is never admitted publicly, consulates, like embassies, may also gather intelligence information from the assigned country. Contrary to popular belief, although many of the staff of consulates may be career diplomats, in practice, the extension and application of consular privileges and immunities can be subject to wide discrepancies from country to country. Consulates are more numerous than diplomatic missions, such as embassies, ambassadors are posted only in a foreign nations capital

Arrival of the English Ambassadors by Vittore Carpaccio, painted between 1495 and 1500—though ostensibly part of a series of paintings on the life of Saint Ursula, this actually depicts the developing diplomatic practices of the Republic of Venice in the painter's own time

Before taking office, an ambassador's credentials must be accepted, such as when South African Ambassador Harry Schwarz handed his credentials to U.S. President George H. W. Bush in 1991.

Maria-Pia Kothbauer, Princess of Liechtenstein and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Czech Republic, presenting her credentials to Václav Klaus

Tiny dots of white against the plant-covered landscape (red in this image) are possible landslides, a common occurrence in mountainous terrain after large earthquakes. The Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault zone runs along the two linear valleys at the top of the image